102 - Blue Plate Special, Anthony Bourdain.

Edacious

Bourdain's Work. Or Once Again, We Must Be Speakers for the Dead. We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you a semi-regular segment here at Edacious. A segment where I rant about a food topic so much on my mind, it warrants its own episode.

Anthony Bourdain can't be summed up in a soundbite or a quote. His body of work stands for his name. Nor will I add anything better than what's already been written or said. There are hundreds of Speakers better than me, including Mike Costello of 100 Days in Appalachia.

Bourdain wasn't even my favorite food writer, but he was the door. The very first door I opened onto a world I knew nothing about and one I'm so glad I stepped through. I loved his work, honest, ballsy, gritty, truth-telling. Sentences with a heft that sat on the page like granite. I fucking loved the way he wrote, and what he stood for. Connecting over food. He did this every minute of every day. And he taught me to do the same.

Bourdain believed when someone cooks you a meal, they are revealing something about themselves. I believe that too. Cooking or baking for someone else is the highest form of love there is. Which is why I chose a decade ago to honor the millions of folks who do so each and every day. And while I can't add anything to the conversation, I do talk about it. Wonder about it. And I urge you all to remember self-care. Maybe get off the phone once in a while, take a walk, see some stuff. Do some shit. Live your life. Preferably with periods of solitude in nature. Don't work so damn much. Maybe if Tony had, we'd still have him. Be well. Big Love.

p.s. Did you snag a Bourdain book at my last food writing class? Check the flyleaf. It might be a signed copy ;) Don't say I never did nothin for ya...

If you are feeling depressed or suicidal. Get help. Ask someone, even if they're a stranger. Don't deal with these feelings alone. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.

SHOW NOTES – Links to resources talked about during the podcast:

• Weedeater by Robert Gipe - Author of Trampoline, Gipe's new illustrated novel is heartbreaking, truth-telling, and just downright hilarious. To say it reminds me of my upbringing is an understatement! Highly recommended. Also, check out his talk on the WMFA podcast with Courtney Balestier.
• Subscribe to This Podcast. Stay Edacious! - Come on, after this episode? You know you want to. Subscribers get new episodes instantly, while non-subscribers have to wait a few hours or days depending on the iTunes gods. Never miss a chance to be edacious!
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